How does a business news network celebrate its 35th anniversary? By ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, of course!
A select group of CNBC employees and network president KC Sullivan appeared at the NYSE on Thursday as part of the network’s anniversary celebration. Footage of the closing bell ringing aired live at the tail end of the aptly-named Closing Bell.
CNBC first flickered to life on TV screens on April 17, 1989. At the time, NBC’s then-president, Bob Wright, called it “the most significant programming effort NBC has ever undertaken outside of the network.” (Fun fact: CNBC stands for Consumer News and Business Channel.)
Upon its 1989 launch, CNBC’s chief rival for business-minded viewers was the Financial News Network, which debuted eight years earlier. But the two networks merged in 1991 and since then CNBC’s competitors have included Bloomberg TV, CNNfn (which shuttered in 2004) and Fox Business Network.
Besides ringing the NYSE’s closing bell, CNBC also shared a 35th anniversary video montage of network highlights on social media.